Daedric Alphabet vs Dovahzul: Skyrim's Two Writing Systems Compared
Walk through Skyrim and you'll see two mysterious scripts. One glows on Daedric armour and shrines to the Daedric Princes. The other is carved into ancient Word Walls in dragon-claw strokes.
They look similar at a glance, but they're completely different systems. Here's how to tell them apart.
Short Answer
The Daedric alphabet is a letter-for-letter substitution script used across The Elder Scrolls series for inscriptions, armour, and books — it writes English (Tamrielic) text. Dovahzul script is the writing system of the dragon language in Skyrim, used on Word Walls to record Words of Power. Daedric writes a common language in a mystical style; Dovahzul writes an actual separate language.
The Counterintuitive Truth: The Script That Looks More Alien Is the Easier One to Read
Daedric letters look strange and demonic. Dovahzul runes look like simple scratches. Yet Daedric is easier to read, because it maps directly onto English letters.
Dovahzul requires knowing both the script and the dragon language. We call this script vs language difficulty: a writing system can look hard while hiding a familiar language, or look simple while hiding an unfamiliar one.
At a Glance
| Daedric Alphabet | Dovahzul Script | |
|---|---|---|
| Series appearance | Throughout The Elder Scrolls | Mainly Skyrim |
| Writes | English/Tamrielic text | The dragon language |
| Look | Ornate, curved, demonic | Straight slashes and dots, claw marks |
| Where seen | Daedric armour, shrines, Oblivion-related items | Word Walls, dragon lairs, ancient ruins |
| Characters | Roughly one per English letter | 34 characters |
| In-lore association | Daedra and their realms | Dragons and the Thu'um |
The Daedric Alphabet
The Daedric alphabet appears in many Elder Scrolls games, including Morrowind, Oblivion, and Skyrim. Each character stands for a Latin letter, making it a substitution cipher in practice.
It's associated with the Daedra — powerful beings like Molag Bal, Sheogorath, and Mehrunes Dagon.
Write your own Daedric text: Daedric Translator
Dovahzul Script
Created for Skyrim (2011), Dovahzul's alphabet has 34 characters, including symbols for long vowels and combined sounds. Letters are made of straight strokes and dots, designed to look like marks a dragon could claw into stone.
It records actual Dovahzul words, like Fus, Ro, and Dah.
Write your own: Dovahzul Translator
Learn the language itself in Dovahzul 101.
Design Philosophy
Daedric: Otherworldly Elegance
Curved, hooked shapes suggest supernatural beings. It looks decorative and ominous — perfect for cursed weapons.
Dovahzul: Primal Power
Straight lines feel ancient and physical. Nothing about it looks written with a pen. We call this tool-shaped writing: a script whose form reflects how it was made — in this case, by claws.
That mirrors real history. Norse runes are angular because they were carved into wood and stone. Compare with Elder Futhark Runes.
How to Read Each
Daedric
- Learn which symbol matches each English letter.
- Read left to right.
- Practise on in-game items and books.
Dovahzul
- Learn the 34 characters.
- Learn common dragon words.
- Read Word Walls, which usually include a Word of Power in a longer inscription.
Other Elder Scrolls Languages
- Aldmeris — ancient elven
- Ayleidoon — language of the vanished Ayleids
- Jel — Argonian tongue
- Tamrielic — common tongue of Tamriel
What Designers and Fans Say
Elder Scrolls fans have extensively documented both scripts, and community-made fonts are widely used in mods, fan art, and tattoos. Bethesda's decision to make both scripts readable rewards players who explore closely — a design choice that has kept fan communities decoding inscriptions for years.
Where Elder Scrolls Scripts Are Heading
We predict The Elder Scrolls VI will introduce at least one new readable script for its setting, continuing the series' tradition. Given how passionately fans decoded Daedric and Dovahzul, readable inscriptions have become an expected part of Elder Scrolls world-building.